"Though 'flat design' is a popular meme right now, there is something much, much deeper going on here at Microsoft. With my own lifelong passion for design I immersed myself in the community and got a front-row seat on a journey that has its roots as far back as the late '90s with Encarta's bold use of typography and clean interface. But it truly sprang to life in late 2010 with the launch of Windows Phone and in the last few weeks has advanced even further with Windows 8.1 and Xbox One. I started from the very place I bet you are right now - disbelief that Microsoft is leading the way on design." They really are. If Apple really goes all minimalist and digital (I dislike the term 'flat') with iOS, Microsoft will have taken over the baton. Crazy world indeed.

Are you sure you pasted the right link? I'm having trouble figuring out what application you're referring to.

With tools like Autohotkey, you'd be surprised at what you can do with GUIs Sure, I can use a terminal, but I rarely need to. In Linux, is there a util you can use to program custom hotkeys and macros in any application where none previously existed? And if so, does it work in Gnome and KDE apps?

There are actually tools that at least try to do that. I ran across some a few years ago when I was researching to write a replacement for xbindkeys that could listen to more types of input and required fewer fork() calls to get things done. (I'd spread myself too thin, so it's currently shelved while I clear out projects that are more urgent or have more seniority.)

Unfortunately, my notes for it are a mess, so I'm not sure where I put the URLs for them. (The obvious project notes only include links for if I do decide to implement.)

As long as you stick to stuff built against toolkits supported by AT-SPI accessibility (Qt 4.8+, GTK+, Java Swing, LibreOffice, Mozilla), raw key/button presses injected via X11 XTest, or functions exposed via D-Bus, the hardest part of implementing an analogue to tools like AutoHotKey and Applescript is actually putting the proper amount of effort into designing the UI and scripting API and choosing a scripting language.

I haven't confirmed, but it looks like one could (ab)use LDTP (a GUI unit test adaptor library) as a simplified API for puppeting applications using AT-SPI.

Beyond those mechanisms, it's also possible, but you're marching down the curve of diminishing returns (eg. writing a DCOP backend for D-Bus equivalent functionality with KDE3/Trinity applications).

As for AHK, it's clear that there is no Linux solution that does what AHK does, even if it were possible to do it. And it (along with its cousin, AutoIt) does a hell of a lot more than hotkeys. It's one of those little utils that keep me on Windows

Insofar as Linux goes, I like the OS, but the apps just aren't there, and most of the best ones are available for Windows anyway, or have superior commercial counterparts. OSX is the same way - people always talk about how superior it is, but on forums for many of my favorite Windows apps, there's always people begging for a Mac version

Ahh. That makes sense. I still have to put together something to snoop on the MIDI SysEx messages Yamaha MusicSoft Downloader uses so I can write a portable, open-source equivalent.

(Or at least something more polished. MusicSoft Downloader is an inefficient eyesore.)

As for AHK, it's clear that there is no Linux solution that does what AHK does, even if it were possible to do it. And it (along with its cousin, AutoIt) does a hell of a lot more than hotkeys. It's one of those little utils that keep me on Windows

Now you've got me curious. Mind giving a quick but comprehensive overview of its features? (from a user's perspective rather than Wikipedia's)

If I ever take my plans out of mothballs (placeholder name: *binder ), maybe I'll try to match it.